Minnesota schools, colleges and local governments would be barred from removing rainbow pride flags, banners or posters under a bill moving through the state Legislature.

The proposal advanced through the House Local Government Finance and Policy Committee on Tuesday and is set to move to a full floor vote after LGBTQ+ advocates said it would provide support for the community. GOP lawmakers said it was an overstep.

“The bill does not require anyone to display rainbows, nor does it supersede policies that prohibit the display of all banners, flags or posters,” said bill author Rep. Leigh Finke, DFL-St. Paul. “It just prohibits rainbows from being singled out and banned in schools, libraries and other government spaces.”

Several states are weighing bills that take the opposite approach and would prohibit pride flags from being flown in classrooms and other settings.

“The rainbow is a sign of hope and affirmation to the 2SLGBTQIA community — my community,” Finke continued. “For those outside of the queer community, it may seem trivial to legislate the definition and presence of rainbows. But in our community, depending on the circumstance, the value of a publicly-visible rainbow on a doorway or window or classroom is literally impossible to overstate.”

The bill’s supporters said the proposal could prevent situations like one in Worthington, where the school board voted to remove a Latino teacher’s LGBTQ+ pride flag from the classroom. Other school districts are mulling policies that bar rainbow pride flags or banners in schools.

“In Minnesota, we’re not immune to efforts to target trans and LGBTQ youth for discrimination,” Gender Justice director Monica Meyer said. “Let’s encourage our communities across the state to counter these efforts to censor educators and schools and silence communities’ support for inclusion.”

Republicans on the panel raised concerns about the measure bringing what they said are political issues into the classroom and they tried unsuccessfully to send the bill to an education committee for additional vetting.

“I think this bill needs a lot more work because it does infringe on some of those areas that we uphold for education to be independent of political activities. And so (I have) a lot of concerns here,” said Rep. Jon Koznick, R-Lakeville.

The proposal would not prevent school or local government leaders from banning all flags, posters or other displays.

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